It is no secret that just about my fave aussie alternative club is the Cobweb Club, which plays goth, deathrock, punk, post-punk and wave. OK so I may be a little biased, having DJ’d at a few, but it is one of those events I just can’t miss. And neither should you!!

I’m already very excited, and have spent many hours researching my costume/look. I’ve been reading up on theatrical make-up – not just cosmetics, but 3d effects like wounds, wrinkles and creating skin abnormalities with prosthetics. If it works out, I’ll do a tutorial. If not…well, I’ll post pics of my miserable attempt. For now, I’m envisioning something like a female version of the Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer…but we’ll see 😉

But back to the club night itself. For a peek at what I and others have worn, here are some photos from previous Cobweb Clubs.

Yesterday I checked out the bespoke sample sale which yielded me a black turban and a magenta sequinned cardi (to be seen in outfit posts later). Then I spent several hours trawling the length of King St, Newtown visiting the vintage shops – the one where I actually bought a few things being the Sarah Jane clearance store.

But the place that I enjoyed most was Gallery Serpentine with its BioMech event, which had alt model Ratchet being bodypainted by Jessica Watson Miller with Illamasqua products – in the window, no less!

They still had a few hours to go with the painting so it wasn’t completed here. Here are a few more photos (Cat Sweeny’s, from the facebook page), to help you see more of the delightful detail:

Cat Sweeny’s Steampunk photos were also displayed on the walls (click to see larger size):

I have to say I was blown away by Urbandon‘s steampunk jewellery too. Urbandon is Don Pezzano, a self-taught assemblage artist and jeweller living in Sydney’s Inner West (and a lovely guy). Using found objects and recycled materials his creations have a Steampunk twist and a masculine sensibility. Drawing on Victorian cult and futuristic ideals allows him to create otherwordly, apocalyptic jewellery and gadgets.

He uses things such as doll’s arms and eyes which I really like, in addition to the usual brass cogs and watch parts. I told him about Dolly Kei in Japan, which likes using antique doll’s faces on necklaces. Who knows? Maybe he’ll come up with a few DK pieces!

His pieces really are unique, definitely collectibles, and here are some items from the Urbandon Etsy store:

Then there was the store itself with its exquisite clothing. Everywhere you look there are beautiful corsets, gowns, sumptuous jackets, amazing patform shoes and boots, jewellery, accessories and more.

The steampunk elements even extended to shoes and boots!

I had to try a few things on, including the fantastic antique gold striped jacket, which clashed brilliantly with my zigzagged pants:

Aussie alternatives, I urge you to pay a visit to Gallery Serpentine sometime, and everyone can check out online the art of the people mentioned in this post. Now, to drool over some of those pieces again…

I’m in love with quite a few of his current creations, and so share them here with you:

Deluxe Zipper Dress

Jacket with Loop Top Sleeves

PVC Motocross Catsuit

Velvet Long Sleeved Catsuit or bodysuit

While some gothic brands can look a little old-fashioned, Chrisst’s designs are always edgy, and are such that the pieces can be worked into non-gothic wardrobes – as various magazine fashion stylists have found. Below are several Tangent Mag shoots utilising his fashion, first as worn by Tammy Stone, and the other by Camille Yi:

For some eye-popping colour, here are some Glamordeath pieces:

and there are definitely cool threads for guys as well…(yep, that’s the man himself to the right…)

For summery goodness, have a peek at some 2040 fashion:

and as seen on the rack at The Salon:

If you can’t get to the sale (as I cannot), then pay a visit to his studio at Crystal Street Petersham (call 02 956966354), or check out House of Fetish, the Chrisst Complex online store or Andy’s facebook page.

Just a few piccies to show what I wore on Saturday night for the Under the Blue Moon gig, as well as my husband’s spiffy attire!

No costumes needed for goths at clubs; we just dress up – but I did go more trad goth than I normally do. I wore a blue-sequinned Takuya Angel embellishment on my upper cheek/lower lash for a bit of pizzazz, and Angelic Blue lenses from Clearly Contacts.